Glyph Runner
by Phoenix Commander
Summary: The timer chimed again. The fleet held their breath, waited, and prayed that they wouldn't come again. Then the sirens blared, the Grimm had found the Remnant's fleet again. They had been jumping every hour, and now the Remnants had to jump again. Running was all they could do, running was the price they paid for playing God.
1. The Price

**AN: Figured I'd try some new pairings and actually see if I could write this story how I had originally planned. Those of you who have read VKS: Beacon know what I'm talking about. The first few chapters will follow the BSG story line but then deviate sharply from it. As for the team organization I just couldn't see Ruby as an Apollo and could see Weiss filling the role better. So the team command structure is dismantled but it was the only way it could work. There will be a little OOC-ness as the situation demands. This story will not have frequent or consistent updates unless I find a way to work it into my schedule. For now it will fill gaps between other updates as needed. Enjoy the journey, keep moving forward, don't feed the guard dogs. - Phoenix Commander signing off**

 **I DO NOT OWN RWBY IT IS THE SOLE PROPERTY OF ROOSTERTEETH PRODUCTIONS**

* * *

 **Chapter One: The Price**

One-hundred years had passed since the Grimm declared war on humanity, a war that had ended in a tenuous peace. Since that time, an outpost had been built, and once a year, humanity would send a representative. The Grimm would send no one. In the hundred years since the end of the war, no human had ever set eyes on a Grimm.

The representative looked at the doors across from him, then at his watch. "It's the same thing every year. I come out here and wait for their representative, Then I leave. Why do we ke-?" His grumbling was cut off as the once silent doors slid open. The sound of steel claws on the deck plate cut through the still air. The representative held his breath, a shout locked in his throat, as the metallic hound prowled into the room. It looked at him, then at a pair of Ursai, the large bear modeled robots, growled, and moved to block the doors. Their movement was followed by a piercing metallic howl from the Beowolf. Before he could reach for something to use as a weapon, the Beowolf lunged at the startled representative. The sound of tearing flesh filled the conference room and blood sprayed against the wall.

As the Beowolf released it's prey, the dying man heard the footsteps of another person. As his vision narrowed from the blood loss, he could just make out a red dress, followed by the sound of of a pistol being drawn. A woman's voice quickly followed. Her voice was smooth, sweet, and dripping with contempt. "This is the price your kind must pay for playing God." She said, as she raised the firearm. The man reached weakly for the pistol before the figure pulled the trigger, and released him from the world. As she looked at the three Grimm, They growled at her, and moved as if to strike. Her amber eyes flashed red. "See to your tasks and destroy the station. It's time we finished what we started." As the Grimm went about causing havoc, the woman pulled out a grenade. _"Humanity will not survive the crushing weight of its crime for long."_ She thought, before pulling the pin and destroying the conference room in a blast of fire.

* * *

 _ **In Orbit Over Vale**_

As the Paladin Dropship began its boarding approach to enter the starboard hangar of the R.C.S: Beacon, it circled the Glyph-Class Carrier. The pilot, clad in a black and white flight suit, looked over her shoulder at her co-pilot. "What do you think, Reaper, pretty good view huh?"

The construction of the R.C.S: Beacon had been finished a week ago, and tomorrow would be it's official christening ceremony. The 1450m carrier supported a crew compliment of five thousand, with 50 primary batteries, 525 dual point defense cannons, and 14 missile tubes. It supported 20 Paladin-class Dropships, 160 Hunter-class fighters, and 1000 Marines. Out of the four other ships that had arrived to watch the official launching of the Glyph-class carrier, the Beacon easily dwarfed them with its size and firepower. However, despite its size, it was also quick to maneuver. It's twin FTL drives, 6 sublight engines, and 40 maneuvering thrusters were more than enough to get the ship where it needed to go. While it's dual flight decks, dual hangar bays, and 80 Hunter launch tubes would be able to place the pilots that called the ship home exactly where they needed to be.

"You're not wrong, Shadow. Then again, seeing a Glyph-Class Carrier always gives off that impressive feel. As if nothing wrong can happen as long as the fleet is watching," Reaper replied. Knowing she couldn't reach them, the red-clad pilot had to resist the urge to try and rub her red tipped wolf ears, as the flight helmet had flattened them uncomfortably against her head.

The black-clad pilot noticed her co-pilot's discomfort. "We're on final approach now Ruby, you'll have that helmet off soon." She said, trying to get her friend's mind off the offending helmet.

"I know, Blake. I just wish there were variants that were a better fit for faunus." The co-pilot replied.

"If it helps, I'm just as uncomfortable. Now come on and focus, don't want to screw up our first landing on the R.C.S: Beacon now do we?" The pilot said, turning her attention to the task at hand.

"Mom and Yang would never let me live it down."

"Exactly." Blake replied with a smirk before tuning her comm to the Beacon's frequency. "RCS: Beacon, this is the BlackRose requesting clearance to land."

"We see you, BlackRose. You are clear for hands on approach into the starboard landing-bay. Welcome to the Beacon." A cheery voice replied.

 _"Hands on, eh? Well at least it'll keep us from getting rusty."_ Blake thought with a shrug.

"Shadow, we have a Hunter coming in on our six. Better land quick, no need to start the day off by having someone break their approach because we took too long." Reaper said, glancing at the short range radar at her station.

"Not a bad idea." The black-clad pilot replied, before increasing power to the dropship's engines and pulling into the hangar moments before the Hunter-class fighter entered behind them.

* * *

 _ **Weiss Schnee**_

 _"Why did they have me on a hands on approach? No ship uses hands on approach protocols anymore!"_ The white-clad pilot thought, annoyed as the canopy of her white painted Hunter-class fighter opened. She pulled off her flight helmet, shook out her long white braid, and stepped down the ladder that was wheeled to her fighter. She approached one of the deck crew intending to get answers.

The Ensign snapped to attention at her approach. "Can I help you, Capt. Schnee?" he asked, as her irritated gaze looked him up and down.

"Why was I on a hands on approach? No active ship uses that protocol anymore." Capt. Schnee asked, still with the irritation in her voice.

"Commander Ozpin's orders, he wants all the pilots at their sharpest, and that includes the basics." The Ensign replied stiffly.

"I see, thank you Ensign." Weiss replied cooly before turning on her heel to head to the Bridge of the Beacon to report for duty. But not before seeing a gold Hunter-class fighter cut its engines and land on the deck with a thud, causing the white haired pilot to wince slightly. _"I thought I'd seen the last of her when we left flight school."_ Weiss thought with a groan, as a gold dressed pilot slid down the rails of the ladder to the deck and removed her helmet. _"Yang Xiao Long…"_

"Hey there, Ice Queen, I wasn't expecting to see you here!" The blonde haired pilot called out.

"It's Captain now, Lt. Xiao Long" Weiss growled out through clenched teeth.

Yang blinked twice and immediately snapped to a salute. "Sorry, Capt. I didn't realize."

Weiss' posture softened a bit. "It's fine, Dragon. How's your family doing?" The pilot asked. While the two had not exactly been friends while at flight school, they had made a little headway towards the end of it.

"Pretty good, my step-mother is still with my old man at the ninth fleet. Reaper should actually be somewhere around here. I saw her and Shadow's Paladin when I landed." Yang replied perking up somewhat.

"So Ruby and Blake are joining us as part of the crew. Should've known I'd never get away from the three of you." Weiss jokingly replied as the pair headed toward a lift that would take them to the bridge.

The white and gold uniformed pilots met their red and black counterparts enroute to the lift. "Hey Ruby, hey Blake, how was the flight in?" Yang asked as they waited for the lift.

"Not too bad, sis. Was that your Hunter coming in behind us?" The red-clad wolf faunus replied.

"Yup, not too bad for your first landing in the hangar of the Beacon. Keep up the good work guys." Yang replied with a smile.

"We intend to, Dragon. After all, while you guys clear the cosmos, we get the ground pounders where they need to be." Blake said pridefully. Piloting a Paladin was just as serious as a Hunter, because you didn't just have yourself and your co-pilot to look after. You had your passengers as well, and most of the time those passengers would prefer you avoid the AA-fire.

"That's the right attitude, Shadow. Now come on people, let's go report to the Commander." Weiss replied with a nod.

* * *

 _ **Bridge**_

As the lift doors slid open, the four pilots stepping out onto the bridge, they were met with a much more advanced bridge layout than they had seen before. All of the major ship systems that would normally fill an older vessel were condensed into three major stations. From their position, the four pilots could see the tactics officer, a Lt. Commander named Port, directing power and maintaining the ship's defenses. Scanning the bridge, they could see the comms station manned by Lt. Peach, a short auburn-haired woman with a light hearted expression, scanning the comms chatter. Lastly, they could see the DRADIS, which filled the navigation station, and was centered in the middle of the bridge manned by Lt. Commander Oobleck, as he was maintaining the ship's position and keeping a watchful eye on their perimeter. It seemed Commander Ozpin's expectations for the pilots were the same for the rest of the crew, even though the practice was not necessary.

"Commander Ozpin, sir! Capt. Weiss Schnee, Lt. Xiao Long, Lt. Rose, and Lt. Belladonna reporting as ordered." Weiss said as she and the others snapped to attention and saluted the grey haired Commander who stood by the DRADIS.

"At ease, welcome to the Beacon. I do hope the reports about the four of you were not exaggerated." Ozpin said, looking at each of them in turn.

"If anyone will vouch for them, you know it'll be me Commander" the XO said with a light smirk.

"That you will, Colonel Branwen." Ozpin said, turning to face the dark haired marine who had spoken. Then he turned back to face the four pilots, "Take the day to get settled and learn your way around the Beacon. Tomorrow we will be holding the ceremony. I look forward to working with you four."

"Thank you, Commander." The four pilots said in unison before leaving the bridge.

"You know Ozpin, those four were the best in their class. My nieces will fly through hell and back. Captain Schnee certainly has the drive to be CAG, and there is no one else I'd rather trust with Summer's pup than Lt. Belladonna." Colonel Qrow said when the door slid closed.

"I trust your judgment Qrow, that's why you're here. Now let's finish pre-" Ozpin started only to be cut off by Lt. Peach.

"COMMANDER, WE HAVE REPORTS OF GRIMM ATTACKS ON ALL THE COLONIES!" The shocked cry was confirmed as multiple contacts appeared on the DRADIS, followed by bright flashes of light from the surface of Vale. The Grimm had started their genocide.


	2. Fight or Flight

**AN: Wow it's been a while...welcome to the next chapter of Glyph Runner. Quick heads up with this chapter, there may be a slight change to the writing style in one of the sections in this chapter as I had some help with the combat scene. MartunaMajor I really needed it! Also before I get remarks about how Roman is being OOC he is like this for a reason, unfortunately I can't explain why due to spoilers. I think that's everything. Enjoy the journey, keep moving forward, and don't feed the guard dogs. - Phoenix Commander signing off**

 **I DO NOT OWN RWBY IT IS THE SOLE PROPERTY OF ROOSTERTEETH PRODUCTIONS!**

 **Thanks for the help with the chapter MartunaMajor!**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Fight or Flight**

"How many are there, LtCmdr?!" Ozpin asked, turning to face Oobleck who had been monitoring the DRADIS.

"Sir, DRADIS is showing ten, no twenty contacts in total. All fit the designs of Grimm fleet ships. Single Goliath Battleship, 15 Nevermore Cruisers, 4 Deathstalker Carriers!"

"Why hasn't the planetary defense grid activated!?" Ozpin shouted. The defense grid consisted of 100 automated orbital stations that were supposed to help defend a colony world. They were dark and unresponsive to the invaders, but Vale was already burning before the enemy was within range. The Grimm had sent bombers ahead of the main force, the smaller vessels when powered down would have appeared only as space debris, until they slipped past the defensive line. Their first strike had been against the capitol buildings that held the station's defensive servers. Without them, the Beacon would not survive the engagement.

"Those detonations must've taken out the defense servers on the planet, Sir, otherwise the vacuum around us would be full of DAC rounds." LtCmdr. Port replied from his station as he brought the Beacon's main guns to bear on the approaching Grimm.

"Commander, we are the only fleet vessel able to engage. But we don't have the firepower to go up against a force that large." Qrow said, staring at the DRADIS. His eyes filled with worry.

"I know that, Col. Branwen! But we can't just sit by and let these bastards destroy our home either." Ozpin said, thinking about their options. They were the only military vessel in the area, the others were most likely responding to the other attacks. Or they were wiped out, that outcome was not impossible, but it was one that the Commander of the Beacon did not want to think about.

"Well that leaves us two options. Fight and lose, which means Vale is destroyed and everyone is lost, or save as many as we can, and run." The marine said, vocally weighing the outcomes.

"Both end with us losing Vale," Ozpin sighed, "But I'd rather lose our home than lose every person on the planet."

"Sir, the Deathstalkers are launching fighters! DRADIS is showing five squadrons each on intercept to our location!" Oobleck called out as the alerts signaling the oncoming fighters began to sound. Seconds after the alerts started ringing, a text only message scrolled across Ozpin's command station.

* * *

 **/SENDER: KING**

 **/FLEET WIDE ORDERS**

 **/CODE BLACK**

 **/Full retreat, under no circumstances are vessels to engage the enemy. All ships, civilian and military, are ordered to regroup at predesignated coordinates. The Remnant systems are to be abandoned.**

* * *

" _Admiral Tai….if we're lucky and I see you again, I'm going to need answers and you had better damn well have them! The Grimm knew where the servers for the defense grid were!"_ Ozpin thought before forwarding the orders to Qrow's station. "Set condition red throughout the ship. We are saving as many people as we can and then running. Can the four vessels that accompanied us make an emergency jump?" Ozpin said as the lights on the bridge dimmed and warning sirens blared.

"Sir, I've been in contact with Captains of the Patch, Signal, Mountain Glenn, and Vale. They are equipped with aura FTL drives for a jump." Lt. Peach responded.

"Then send them these coordinates. We're going to cover them, launch our Paladins, and bring as many survivors from the surface as we can, then meet them at the rendezvous location." the Commander replied, sending the emergency coordinates to his Comms Officer. "Launch the Hunters and get the Paladins prepped!"

"You're going to have the Hunters form a screen, aren't you?" The XO asked, picking up on the idea.

"How else will our Paladins get through that many fighters and bring back the civilians?" Ozpin answered with a grimace. If the time came when they could return, he'd see the Grimm pay dearly for this attack.

"Can they hold off that many though, and are you really going against orders, Commander?"

"Those toasters don't have our ability to act on instinct. What is it Maj. Rose always says?" Ozpin asked, thinking about the wolf faunus who lead the squadrons of the 9th Fleet.

"Always fly with your gut cause most of the time it's the correct choice. Summer drills that philosophy into all her pilots." Qrow replied.

"Exactly! That is our edge, now get our Hunters and Paladins in the water. And Colonel, for the record if we can save even a few families before we jump, then it'll be worth it." Ozpin said, giving Qrow a look that left no room for argument.

* * *

"This is Colonel Branwen to all hands, get to your stations. We are buying the civilian vessels time to jump to an emergency rally point. During the combat, we will be deploying Paladins to the surface to evacuate as many people as we can. We will then leave the system to make for the same location." Qrow's voice sounded over the ship-wide comm relaying Ozpin's orders to get the CAP and the Paladins deployed.

"What about Vale? Does that mean we are running?" A yellow and blue suit pilot asked as his Hunter was loaded into a launch tube.

"I'm pretty sure that's the idea, Jaune." the voice of one of the other pilots answered over the CAP-wide comm.

"But Hammer, what about all of the people we can't get off the surface!?" Jaune replied scowling behind his helmet.

"Easy, Shield, I know that this is not the best scenario, but we are out numbered. We can't save them all. I'm sure that the Commander and Colonel's decision is giving us a best case outcome."

"But Shinobi-" The pilot's argument was cut off by his wingman.

"Jaune, Nora and Ren are right. This isn't how things were supposed to be, but what is and what was no longer matter. What matters now is what we do to help those who need it." The voice was calm despite the current situation. Shield hadn't known Sentinel to crack under pressure. Her demeanor brought him some comfort and helped set his mind to the task.

"Y-you're right, Pyrrha. Let's make sure the Paladins get to the surface and back in one piece." Shield replied, getting his emotions under control to focus on the job at hand.

"And make those Grimm pay for every inch of vacuum they take." Hammer, Nora, added determined to take out as many of the enemy as she could.

"Couldn't have put it better. Hammer squadron and Shinobi, you guys are on clean up. If the Grimm make it past the screen, scrap them. The rest of you form a wall, pick your targets, and show these scrap heaps what the Remnant Navy can do!" Capt. Schnee said over the CAP-wide frequency.

"Mind if I cover your wing, Ice Queen?" Dragon asked as the CAP took up formation to intercept the oncoming fighters as the Paladins launched.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Dragon." Weiss replied before switching to a private comm. "Yang, you know your folks are alright? It'll take more than this to bring down the 9th Fleet."

"I know Weiss, I'm just worried about my sister. Summer will be fighting out in the open with her squadrons." Yang replied, her voice wavering a little.

"Don't think about what might be, think about what you know. Your step-mother taught us to fly with our instincts, and she'll be doing the same. We have an edge on these machines, she'll be fine. You'll see." Weiss hoped the smile she had put on her face had conveyed through the comm. " _If only I knew how my family is doing...I hope they got off of Atlas before the fighting started there."_ She didn't know her family's fate, but even if they were gone, Weiss "Ice Queen" Schnee was going to keep fighting and do what she could to help her friends do the same.

"I hope you're right, Weiss. Looks like the fun is getting ready to start. Shall we?" Yang said, the ghost of a smile forming. " _Thanks for that Weiss, I needed that pick-me-up."_ The pilot thought, as she returned her focus to the enemy.

Weiss chuckled slightly before switching back to the CAP frequency. "All fighters engage the enemy, you have your orders. Good luck, good hunting, and for fucks sake stay out of Beacon's firing solution!"

* * *

The Griffon fighters, launched from the Deathstalker carriers, swarmed towards the wall of Hunter craft, with even more amassing behind them as the larger ships were becoming obscured.

"My God, there are so many of them." Shield said, watching the ever growing assault fleet approach them.

"Stay focused Shield, we've got a job to do." Sentinel replied.

The Hunter ships held their trajectory facing the oncoming Grimm invasion, each squadron, consisting of 25 fighters and a squadron leader, were spread out in front of the R.C.S: Beacon.

"Break!" Ice Queen called through the comms.

The six squadrons broke and went into different directions, with Hammer and Shinobi staying back in the formation. Only four individual ships were left behind.

Ice Queen's voice rang back through the comms. "Pilots! What are you doing? What squadron were you assigned to?"

"We weren't assigned to one, Capt.," responded one of the pilots.

Ice Queen sighed, "Fine, stay back with Hammer and Shinobi, and once those Paladins take flight, you are to stay on their asses and no further, do you read?"

"Understood, Capt."

" _How the Hell did four pilots end up unassigned to a squadron!?"_ Ice Queen thought, as the four pilots took up positions with Hammer and Shinobi squadrons. Once they left, she focused once more on the swarm of Griffon attack-ships in front of her.

Dragon's voice came through the comm. "Alright everyone, let's clear out these bastards!"

Instinctively, Ice Queen started to open fire, her two 30mm dust-accelerator-cannons stitching a line through the open vacuum. The 25 other ships followed suit, and immediately broke formation as the enemy ships fired their own shots.

The Beacon had turned to port, bringing its main starboard batteries to bare for a massive broadside, filling the space between the Hunters and the Griffons with fire. The shells from the Beacon's primary batteries assisting in the fray added to the chaos and helped to thin out the swarm of fighters, picking them off before they even reached the Hunters.

Ice Queen expertly wove her way through, pulling up onto the back of a Griffon, pulling the trigger, and watching the fighter explode. She pulled back and turned around, firing at another few fighters that passed by her, taking out another one. Dozens of dust rounds were whizzing past her ship as she tried to keep moving, looking back towards the carrier to see Hammer and Shinobi doing their parts perfectly, with backup fire from the Beacon's point defense turrets.

The Hunters, with the support of the R.C.S: Beacon, were holding strong, but against 3 to 1 odds, the number of fighters alone would eventually wear down the defenders. And once the larger ships of the invading Grimm fleet decided to join the fight, they wouldn't survive long.

Weiss moved around again to pass behind another Griffon, a few shots ripping it apart. As she looked around for her next prey, she noticed the impossible to mistake yellow Hunter charging at a cluster of Grimm fighters, firing a javelin missile right into the heart of the formation, the resulting explosion tearing two of them to bits, with the force of the blast scattering the rest. Ice Queen took aim and picked off two more before they could regain themselves and fly off. They didn't go far as they reconvened on Dragon's tail, trying to shoot her down.

"Dragon, watch your six" Ice Queen called, moving to aid her.

"I see them," Dragon called back, angling her ship upwards to drag them away from the fight, a slight wide spiral to avoid any dust shots. Suddenly, she cut off her main thrusters and swiveled her nose around, firing at the four ships, her dust cannons destroying all of them.

"Got 'em!" Dragon called, re-entering the battlefield.

After a quick look around, she figured now was as good a time as any. "Ice Queen to Beacon Actual. The Paladins are clear for takeoff. I repeat, the Paladins are clear."

She spun her ship around a Griffon ship flying straight at her, the shots she fired sailing off into space. She turned back to see the hanger bays open and the first Paladin ship takeoff.

"Thanks for the cover, and good luck Ice Queen! You too Dragon, give 'em Hell!" Reaper, BlackRose's co-pilot, said over the comm.

"Copy that BlackRose, get back here in one piece!" Dragon replied as she spun to intercept another Griffon.

As the BlackRose broke through the atmosphere of Vale leaving their escort of Hunters to deal with any pursuers, Ruby could hear her mother's advice repeating itself in her ears. " _Always fly with your instincts Pup, and you'll come home safe every time."_ As long as the pilots of the BlackRose listened to that advice, Ruby and Blake would make it back to the R.C.S: Beacon in one piece.

* * *

 _ **Vale Surface**_

"Come on Glynda, we have to make it to the clearing! I can hear that Paladin nearby!" A man dressed in a white coat and black dress pants shouted as he and the President's aide sprinted through the forest on the outskirts of Vale City. Even from within the tree cover, they could still smell the smoke of the burning city, and when the wind was right, hear the screams of the dying. Roman Torchwick, developer of the colonial defense grid that had protected the planets, winced at the sound, and wondered if his wife had managed to get out of the city in time. " _Cinder I hope you made it out…"_

"Damn it Roman, can you think of anyone else other than yourself?! We left him to die in the capital!" The voice of the presidential aide pulled Roman out of his thoughts.

"Listen Goodwitch, if we had stayed to help him we would have died with him. You saw where that nuke detonated. Besides, Ironwood ordered us to leave him behind." Roman said, pointing the direction of the burning city.

"That doesn't make it right!" Glynda Goodwitch had been working with Colonial President James Ironwood for 12 years. She'd known him longer than that, though. Months before the attack he had made a declaration to the Colonies, that when it came time to pick the next President of the Remnant Colonies, he'd be choosing her.

"No, but it was necessary. You saw the fleet orders, the colonies are lost. The Grimm won. After all, we're going to need a leader and he already chose you, didn't he? Don't let him die in vain." Roman said, consoling the blonde haired woman.

"I-I'm sorry, Roman. You're right, James wouldn't want us to die with him." Glynda replied, wiping her eyes clean of the tears that had been flowing. The action left behind a streak of blood, her last action as the Presidential Aide had been to try and keep him from dying.

"I'm sorry Glynda, now come on, we need to get to that clearing. We'll grieve when we're safe." Roman said, motioning for Glynda to follow him. " _What I want to know is how the Hell those fucking toasters found out about my planetary defense grid! Nobody destroys my life's work and lives to regret it!"_ He didn't know that hours before his wife had walked into the mainframe of the defense network and triggered a beacon showing where to strike.

* * *

"Holy shit." Blake whispered as she circled the BlackRose over a clearing on the border of Vale City. She could make out almost 100 people gathered in the clearing waiting for the Paladin to land.

"We're gonna need a bigger ship. We can't take more than 14 of them or we'll never get off the ground." Ruby said, from her station she was able to get an accurate count of the civilians, 93 in total, "And as much as I'd like to be able to, we can't make a second trip. I hate this! We'll be leaving people to die!" She growled out, a thump echoing through the Paladin's cockpit as she brought her fist down on her monitor.

"I know Ruby, but we need to decide before we land how we're choosing who lives." Blake replied. "One way would be to draw lots."

"Is it really though? We'd be putting someone's life in the hands of a slip of paper."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Unfortunately not. I just wish we could save them all." Reaper sighed, there was a slight tremor in her shoulders. " _Those fucking Grimm are going to pay for this!"_

"Me too, Wolf." Shadow agreed, using the pet name she had given to Ruby. " _I don't need my senses to tell me her temper is in overdrive. I need to talk her down when we have time."_ Blake thought. Ruby's protective instincts were what made her the pilot she was, she could switch from one action to another at the drop of a hat. In the simulations at flight school, those instincts had saved her and Shadow more than once. Unfortunately, her emotions almost always ran high. Blake had to talk Ruby out of rash decisions more than once when they were younger.

"Let's get to the ground, be ready to launch ASAP in case things go south. They're desperate to survive." Reaper said, pulling Shadow out of her thoughts.

"Copy that, Reaper." Shadow replied, pushing the BlackRose into a dive toward the clearing. Before the black and red Paladin had even touched the soil, the panicked and desperate civilians had encircled the dropship.

As the cargo ramp opened, Ruby stepped out into the open. The glare from the setting sun forced her to close her eyes for a brief moment. The people in the clearing took that moment to surge forward to the ramp. Before they could get onto it though, Reaper had drawn her sidearm.

"Get back! Back up now!" Ruby shouted, her weapon trained on the nearest person to her. "We can't take all of you. If we try to, then we won't even be able to leave the planet, let alone get to the Beacon!"

"What do you mean you can't take all of us?!" A woman shouted, from where she was, Ruby could see she had two kids with her. They couldn't have had more than 12 years between them.

"I mean we can't take you all. If we try to, the flight through the atmosphere would be unstable. Chances are we'd all die trying to get through." Ruby replied, the external speakers in her helmet amplifying her voice.

"Then how many of us can you take?!" Another woman shouted.

"Our Paladin can only hold 14 of you. We're going to have to draw lots to figure out who." The red-clad pilot replied, tightening her grip on her pistol.

"Are you fucking kidding?! That's ridiculous! I am not dying here!" A man shouted as he rushed the Paladin.

"Back off!" Reaper shouted, as she fired a warning shot. The bullet went past the man's ear, smashing into a tree in the other side of the crowd with a loud splintering crack. Ruby didn't need to look to see that the tree had a large crack two inches wide and four feet long. The bullet had been fitted with a micro-explosive and designed to punch through armored vests.

"Alright! Alright, we'll draw lots!" The man relented, backing away slowly. Ruby held back a growl when she caught the remark he whispered when he backed down the ramp. "Fucking fascist bitch."

* * *

Using a piece of paper torn from a notebook, Ruby wrote down 93 numbers and then passed them out amongst the worried colonists. Looking out over the crowd, Ruby could just make out the R.C.S: Beacon in low orbit over the planet. The fire from it's main batteries and the smaller, fainter lines from the Hunter-fighters lighting up the darkening sky. Ruby could also make out the darker forms of the larger Grimm fleet ships as they moved in toward the planet and it's only defender. " _They must've fallen back into a low orbit to make a better stand. We need to get out of here fast."_

"Well, are you going to call the lots or what!?" One of the people shouted, pulling Ruby's gaze back to them.

"The lots are: 7, 23, 8, 12, 42, 89, 73, 9, 14, 69, 11, 63, 10, and 15." Reaper replied, she could see the people in the crowd tensing. She could see the fear in their eyes as they held loved ones, praying that they'd get off of Vale in one piece. Ruby hated every number she read off, as she condemned people who were not called to death at the hands of Grimm. The light slowly left their eyes as they accepted their own deaths. " _You all may never find this out, but I truly did want to save all of you."_ Ruby thought sadly. As the lot winners hurriedly made their way up the ramp, Ruby recognized two of the people as Roman Torchwick and Glynda Goodwitch, having met them once before, as they were introduced when they were meeting with her father. "Dr. Torchwick, Ms Goodwitch, glad to see you made it out of the city safely."

"Lt. Ruby Rose, wasn't it?" Glynda asked, as Reaper helped her up the ramp.

"Yes ma'am, do you know if President Ironwood made it out?" Ruby asked, hoping the leader of the colonies had survived.

"N-no he didn't." The former aide said, her voice was barely above a whisper, but Ruby was able to make out the tremor.

"I'm sorry, Ms Goodwitch."

"Me too, Lt. Rose." Glynda said, turning to face the darkened interior of the dropship.

As Reaper turned to board the BlackRose with her and the ramp started to rise, the man that she had threatened with her warning shot pulled a small pistol from the jacket he was wearing and rushed the vessel. "I told you I am not fucking dying here!" He turned the pistol toward Glynda. "Let me on, or she dies!"

Ruby only heard her mother's advice as she let her instincts take over. Reaper pushed her charge back into the ship, and in the same moment, turned her sidearm to the man and fired twice. " _No one is harming someone I'm trying to protect!"_ The first round hit him square in the chest the bullet entered with little resistance, the molten and fragmented core of the round exiting out of his back sprayed the crowd with blood and bits of bone as the small explosive blew apart his sternum and blew a four inch hole through his back. The second bullet struck him in the head blasting his face into an unrecognizable mass and destroying his skull. Ruby calmly walked over to the corpse and kicked it down the ramp. The pilot then kept her firearm trained on the crowd until the Paladin's ramp closed.

* * *

 _ **Enroute to R.C.S Beacon**_

As the Paladin entered the upper atmosphere, Ruby finally broke the silence that had filled the cockpit after the incident with the crowd. "I really wanted to save them all. But in the end, I ended up turning my gun on the very people I had sworn to protect. I didn't want to have to take his life, he was just afraid, yet what else could I do?"

"Ruby, listen, what you did helped protect Goodwitch and the rest of the people on this ship. When he drew on her, he turned into the enemy." Blake replied, she wanted to be able to just console Ruby. She could sense her emotions were conflicted. On the one hand, they had saved her and the people on board the BlackRose, while on the other she was now questioning her morals as a soldier.

"But we can't keep having to kill civilians. If we do, then we aren't going to survive and are no better than the Grimm." Ruby replied, her voice breaking a little as she tried to focus on her station.

"I know, but we can only hope the killing will stop once we leave." Shadow replied, even though she said it softly, Blake knew Ruby could hear her.

"I hope so, Blake. I don't want to have to turn my weapon on another Remnant again." Ruby whispered.

Blake focused back on her flying, "Beacon Actual, this is the BlackRose, we are coming in hot for a combat landing. We have Dr. Torchwick and the Presidential Aide on board!"

"Roger that BlackRose, you are the last ones home, get your ass back to the barn! We are jumping in 30 seconds!" Lt. Peach's voice crackled through the comm.

Twenty seconds later, just as the R.C.S: Beacon retracted its landing-bays, there was a bright flash of rippling blue light as the aura FTL drive shunted the ship into the dimension between space, sending them to their destination.

Leaving Vale behind to burn at the hands of the Grimm.


	3. Regroup

**AN: I want to offer a quick apology for any confusion that may have happened over the last week or so regarding the updated status of** **Glyph Runner** **. There was a hiatus notice put up as the technical "chapter three" while I was getting back into writing after a break for a few medical issues. I deleted the note on the 26th of August as I was beginning to work on this story again. Unfortunately I forgot FanFiction flags any removal of a chapter or posting of a chapter as an update of the story, otherwise I would have waited until the chapter was ready. That is also the case with** **Pedigree** **, which Shadow Nightblade and I are working on once more. Again I'm sorry for the confusion. And I leave you now with the real third chapter of Glyph Runner! Enjoy the journey, keep moving forward, and don't feed the guard dogs! - Phoenix Commander signing off!**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Regroup**

Major Summer Rose turned her white and red Hunter, circling the last military vessel of the 9th Fleet of the Remnant Colonies, a Knight-Class dreadnaught, finishing the third circuit of her patrol around the fallback point of the survivors of the Grimm's genocide. The wolf Faunus could see the scars left from the fighting, jagged gouges in the hull of various locations left open to the vacuum of space and cripplingly large holes near the engineering deck. The CAG of the Solarius was sure the vessel would not see combat again and survive. _We were not prepared for any of this. Without the orbital grids that defended the planets we were left wide open after the bombs first fell._ The red haired wolf Faunus thought, tears of rage in her silver eyes, out of four hundred and fifty other pilots that had been tasked with defending the 9th Fleet and the civilian ships as they prepared for the emergency jump, she was one of only twenty that survived. _I couldn't do anything to help them! No matter what my skills are they all died because we were not prepared for this, I was not prepared for this!_

Summer's comm chirped inside her helmet as she blew past one of her check in locations, "Ghost, this is Solarius actual. You're running hot, advise you cut back on the fuel. We don't want you floating out there if we get any contacts."

"Acknowledged, Solarius actual. Cutting back on my speed." The wolf Faunus replied, letting up on the throttle of her ship as her personal comm chimed almost immediately after.

"Summer, I know you're upset; so am I but as long as we are alive then so are the colonies." Admiral Taiyang said, his voice cracking slightly. Summer could tell he was gritting his teeth, he'd unloaded his service pistol into his desk after giving the order to abandon the colonies in his anger. "And as long as the colonies are alive then we can still be a thorn in the Grimm's side."

"You mean while we run with our tails between our legs?!" The white and red helmeted pilot hissed.

"You and I both know that fighting them would be futile now. Even more so than it was at the start of their attack." The admiral said calmly. Tai was just as distraught at the attack as his wife was, but at the same time as the highest ranked military officer in the fleet he needed to maintain some level of emotional control. Even at the risk of sounding as if he didn't care.

"We were foolish to think the Grimm couldn't get past the grids!" Growled the CAG, her gloved fist hitting the canopy of her Hunter with a muffled thump.

Summer heard Tai give a few orders to his tactics officer before he replied, "Yeah and we've paid for it. Right now though fighting them is off the board indefinitely, we need to focus solely on survival and if that means we have to run then we will run. Even to the end of the universe."

"I… I know Tai I'm just…" Summer sighed trailing off, finally calming down slightly after venting her frustration.

The fleet admiral's voice filled with remorse at the loss of life and at the orders he had given to contribute to the losses, "I know dear. But you didn't give the order for all Hunters to deploy, I did. I went over you and you had to suffer seeing them die alongside you. I will never be able to apologize enough for doing that but they knew what they were getting into and died heros. Because of them we were able to hold back the Grimm long enough to save eleven civilian ships, each with thousands of lives aboard them."

"Heros… we don't need heros anymore. Heros die and we don't need more people dying." The white and red suited pilot said, her eyes still glistening with tears. If her wolf ears could have moved within the confines of her helmet they would have flattened themselves tighter to her head.

"Agreed, I just hope my message reached Vale. They still haven't responded and with the Solarius' aura drive going into meltdown after the jump we made I'd sure as Hell appreciate the Beacon's presence. We could use their firepower to cover us until we can get this fixed and we can all jump again." The colonial fleet admiral said, doing his best to keep his movements from coming across his comm as he slipped something into his pocket, _Or failing that, they can jump with the civilians while I blow away any toaster that shows its face here with an aura reactor sized surprise. One way or another Summer we don't have much more time together. Even if we get the Solarius mobile again and if the Beacon does show up I'm transferring you to them. If you don't take command of the CAP and leave the role to Capt. Schnee I will not complain, because you'll at least be safe and with our girls._

"Do you really think they made it out Tai?" Ghost asked, her worry coming through the comm as she made her next checkpoint.

"Don't start going down that path, Major. Our girls are fine and so are Blake and Weiss. They were the best in your class and you trained them to the best of your ability." Summer's husband said, a little firmly. The last thing he wanted was for her to start thinking about what if scenarios.

Summer could hear that something suddenly grabbed Tai's attention on the bridge. As the pilot switched back to fleet wide comms chatter she started berating herself again, _You mean my ability that was worth next to nothing against-,_ until Tai's voice blared through her comm.

"This is Solarius Actual to all ships in the fleet, long range DRADIS contacts on approach, set condition yellow throughout the fleet!"

Summer's short range DRADIS pinged the location of the approaching contacts, "Five in all. Well if it's the Grimm I'm at least going to give them Hell before the end for what they did to our homes." The Solarius CAG muttered as she white knuckled her firing controls, broke from her patrol and sped off in the direction of the contacts. "This is Ghost I'm breaking my patrol to confirm contact identification."

"Acknowledged Ghost, stay safe out there." Solarius Actual replied, as the crippled dreadnaught slowly turned with its thrusters to bring its broadside batteries to bear. Even if it could barely move the capital ship and its crew would still cover the civilians escape if it needed to.

* * *

 _ **R.C.S: Beacon**_

"Cmdr. Ozpin, jump successful and all vessels are accounted for." LtCmdr. Oobleck called from his station on the bridge. "DRADIS is showing twelve contacts on long range scans."

"Very good, LtCmdr. Set condition yellow throughout the ship and let us see who's here to welcome us." Ozpin said, eyeing the contacts on the DRADIS systems. It would be a few more moments until they were identified by the their FoF tags.

"Sir, a moment." Qrow said pulling Ozpin's gaze from the projections. "What is the plan now that we're here?"

"I don't know, but if Admiral Tai is here waiting for us he'll have the answers." The black and green clad officer replied returning his gaze to the DRADIS projections. "We've got a craft on approach we'll soon see who's here."

A few tense moments later a voice piped through the ship wide comms as a hail was received, "This is Maj. Summer Rose, CAG of the Solarius you have no idea how good it is to see you lot. Welcome back to the fleet!"

A resounding cheer filled the decks from the crew of the Beacon no doubt the same was happening on the Signal, Vale, Mountain Glenn and Patch as their own sensors confirmed Ghost's FoF. Ozpin replied on a fleet wide channel, "This is Beacon Actual, it's good to hear your voice Major. If you're in need of a refuel our starboard landing bay is ready to receive you and we're prepared to add the Beacon's CAP to your patrol routes immediately."

"Much obliged, Beacon Actual, I'm short on both pilots and fuel, maintain your current heading and I'll debrief you when I get to the bridge." Summer replied, her smile audible over the comm.

Closing the line, Ozpin switched to the Beacon's ship wide comms, "Capt. Schnee, Lt. Rose, Lt. Xaio-Long, and Lt. Belladonna report to the starboard landing bay to receive Solarius' CAG."

"You know Yang and Ruby will be sprinting there right?" Col. Branwen asked, a slightly tear stained smile plastered on his face.

"After what we've just gone through there is no way in Hell I'm going to be the one to keep them from being reunited. I'd rather face an Ursa with nothing but a knife." Ozpin chuckled, giving his XO a brief pat on the shoulder before turning to his navigations officer. "Mister Oobleck, what's the status on our aura drive?"

"Spinning up and readying for another jump. Twelve minutes and counting, Cmdr!" The lithe green haired officer replied.

"LtCmdr. Port, first sign of trouble I want us broadside, ready to cover the fleet and to scrap anything that jumps in that is not one of us!" The bespectacled Commander ordered.

"Aye, Sir!" Came the rotund officer's reply as he picked up his station's comm and began relaying orders to the deck crew.

Turning to his comms officer, Ozpin leaned toward her whispering, "Lt. Peach get me a line directly to Admiral Tai. Once Major Rose joins us on the bridge we need to start making a plan either for fighting back or failing that, then where we're going from here."

"Yes, Sir. We've got a line through I'll open it when you're ready. Sir?" Peach replied before starting to ask a question.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" The commander asked, slightly arching an eyebrow.

"We won't go back to fight will we?" The comms officer asked, she knew that if they did it be the end of them all.

"No, Peach. We won't, I want very badly to do so but I'd be dooming us all if I gave that order and I won't do that. I can't give that order." Ozpin sighed, his fists tightening around his cane as if trying to strangle it.

The petite woman gave her superior a small smile. Trying to raise his spirits, "I know, you won't Sir. But we're alive because of your orders and the Admiral's which means we at least have a chance to make things better for ourselves again."

"Keep that optimism, Lt. Because until things do get better it's the only thing that will keep everyone from despair." The gray haired man said returning the smile with one of his own. _Smart woman, keep looking for the better lot in life, and who knows? Maybe we'll get there._

"You damn well better believe I'll keep looking for a silver lining. Oh, sorry, Sir." Lieutenant Peach blushed embarrassed at her candid reply.

"No worries, now let's be ready for that debrief. You may have to transmit the orders to the civilians." Ozpin chuckled, willing to let the outburst slide. If the bridge crew were to break out into a dance he would have let them, for a few minutes at least. The good news they had received warranted a small amount of leniency.

"Aye, Sir." The comms officer said, returning her focus to her station as she monitored the fleet's comm traffic in case the Beacon was told to make any changes in their course.

* * *

 _ **Beacon Starboard Landing Bay**_

As Summer wheeled her Hunter into the bay her eyes widened in shock at the sight before her, ten of the Beacon's twenty Paladin-class dropships were housed there and were in the process of unloading their passengers. _If the others in the port bay are full just like these ones that means they saved two hundred and eighty people. But if they'd had time for more trips it would have been so much better._ The sight of four pilots entering the bay caught her attention as her landing gear hit the deck. _Thank God they made it!_ As the CAG climbed out of her craft she felt most of her worry leave her.

Forgetting military decorum Ruby threw herself at her mother just as her boots hit the deck plate, wrapping the older wolf Faunus in tight embrace, "Mom! We weren't sure if we'd-"

Tearing off her helmet as quickly as she could and tossing it into her cockpit Summer returned the embrace and cut her daughter off, she could smell blood. "I'm fine but what about you?!" Looking over the Paladin pilot quickly the Solarius CAG could see the blood spatter on her flight suit.

"I-It's not mine." Ruby stammered, still trying to come to terms with her actions.

Ruby's mother turned her questioning gaze to Blake, "One of the civilians was desperate to leave Vale. He drew a firearm and Reaper reacted as needed." The feline Faunus rattled off instinctually.

"I don't want or need a formal report Lt. Belladonna! Just tell me if you and everyone else is alright." The white and red suited pilot said turning her gaze to each in turn.

Weiss replied for them, "We're all fine. Shaken certainly but fine."

"We should be asking you that too, Summer." Yang said hugging her stepmother and her sister. Tears of joy at seeing her parent alive filling her lilac eyes.

"Yeah, Little Dragon, I'm fine. My CAP was decimated though. Four hundred and twenty Hunters and there's only twenty of us left." The Solarius pilot sighed, seeing her children and their friends alive was a blessing but it would take a long time for the pain at seeing those under her die to fade.

"Hundred and eighty actually. You heard the Commander, Ma'am." Weiss said before keying into the Beacon's ship wide comm, while trying to maintain her composure at hearing of the losses. "This is Capt. Schnee to Hunter squadrons Sentinel and Hammer, get your birds into the water and link up with the Solarius Hunter patrol. I want a full parameter set up in ninety seconds!"

As the dull thump of the launch tubes reverberated through the deck plates, over Ruby's shoulder Summer recognized Dr. Torchwick and Glynda Goodwitch stepping off the ramp of BlackRose. "You found them both? Amazing job indeed." Summer said, her ears perked in amazement, giving Ruby a prideful smile.

"I just wish I didn't have to kill someone to keep them safe." Ruby replied, releasing her mother and making her way toward Torchwick and Glynda.

"I know but you and them are alive, and a threat is not because of your actions." The Solarius CAG replied, her ears flattening slightly.

"Still doesn't make it easy." The red and black suited Paladin pilot sighed, her flattened ears still unmoving as she continued to try and sort her emotions.

"It never should be." Summer said, gently placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder before addressing Glynda and Roman. "Dr. Torchwick, Ms Goodwitch it's good to see you both are alright. Do you know if President Ironwood made it out?"

"No Major Rose, James is dead." Torchwick answered, helping Glynda down the ramp. "We were just on our way to the bridge to tell the Commander."

"I see... I'll come with you, there are things on my end that he should hear from me as well." Maj. Rose said, pausing at the news. She glanced quickly at Ironwood's replacement as they walked. Flanked on either side by Weiss, Yang, Ruby, Blake. _So that means we'll need to swear in Glynda as his replacement. Poor woman, she's covered in blood looks like she performed her last act to try and save him. Not the way I'd want to become the leader of the colonies, or what's left of them._ A marine fireteam met them halfway.

The fireteam leader saluted Summer as she started speaking, "We can escort you three rest of the way to the bridge, Ma'am." Ruby could see from her name patch that it was Coco Adel, "You four look like you could use a little bunk time." Coco said looking at the four pilots.

Looking at Ruby and Yang, Summer could see they didn't want to leave her side just yet. "It's for the best right now girls. We'd be crowding the bridge otherwise."

"The Major's right. We still have jobs to do, I'll see if I can at least get you both off for a shift or two once things are… somewhat calmer." Weiss said, sensing a possible outburst from Yang.

"I, yeah. Alright we'll catch up later." Yang said realizing they were both right. As Summer, Glynda and Roman continued to the bridge with the fireteam, the blonde pilot looked at the alabaster haired CAG as the four of them headed to the crew quarters and their shared cabin, "You were right. They both did make it."

"I told you." Weiss replied, giving Yang a brief smile.

"You know it's entirely possible your family is with the fleet too." The blonde pilot continued.

"You think so?" The Beacon's CAG asked, blinking in surprise at Yang's comment.

"At the very least your sister is. She's as tough as us. Remember that story you told me about how she literally stitched herself up after a mishap in her infirmary?" Dragon asked, with a growing smirk.

"Yeah, if anyone of them made it out it would be Winter." Weiss agreed as the four pilots stepped into the Beacon's crew quarters. "Alright girls, hit the bunks. No telling when we'll get another chance for some shuteye."

"Copy that Capt." Yang said, hoisting herself up into a bunk.

Blake paused a moment and held Ruby back. "We'll get some shuteye in a bit, Ice Queen. Reaper you got a sec to check something out on the BlackRose?" The feline Faunus asked her copilot.

"What…? Oh, Sure thing, Shadow." The wolf Faunus answered distractedly, following her copilot out of their quarters.

Weiss looked from the door to Dragon and back again, as the door closed behind the Paladin pilots. "What was that about?"

Yang stared at the ceiling of their shared cabin as she replied, "Probably going to try and help her figure out how to cope with killing that civie. Ruby's mind is probably still racing."

Capt. Schnee pursed her lips as she thought back to her days in flight school, "I remember a few instances while at the academy that they'd disappear for a bit if something got Reaper riled up. I didn't realize Shadow was talking her down each time."

"Yup, though sooner or later those two probably won't just be talking." Dragon squadron's leader replied, with a short chuckle.

"What do you mean?" The blue eyed pilot asked, laying back onto a lower bunk across from Yang.

The lilac eyed Hunter pilot glanced down at her captain, "I mean, eventually we may want to avoid the BlackRose on occasion or risk permanent mental scarring."

"What are y-, oh… I had no idea they were..." Weiss' eyes widened as she pieced together what Yang was saying.

"Gayer than a rainbow? Yeah, they've been beating around the bush for the last few months now. They'd better hurry up and finally notice each other, times like this we need to take our happiness where we can get it." Dragon said, shaking her head slightly as she went back to staring at the ceiling. _If I lose it like some of the others probably are now I'm not going to be at my best. I won't let what's happening get to me. Summer and Dad are alive, so are the others. All that matters now is being the best in the cockpit to make sure they, and everyone else, stay that way._ Yang thought, burying and sealing off her tumultuous thoughts as they tried to rise to the surface now that her adrenaline from her earlier fight was dying off.

 _She seems… off. I would expect you to be just as shaken about this, Dragon. Either you're actually tougher than I thought you were or you're bottling this up. We may need to have a talk later._ Weiss rolled over to face the wall, trying to hide her now worried look from her lieutenant, as she closed her eyes to catch a short nap before she'd have to be on her feet again, replying as she did so. "As long as their performance doesn't suffer I agree. We should take every opportunity given to us."


	4. Decisions and Sorrow

**Decisions and Sorrow**

The ramp of the BlackRose sealed with a hiss, leaving Blake and Ruby in the solitude of the dimly lit dropship. The noise of the deck crew working to refuel and rearm the Beacon's Hunter and Paladin-crafts sounding muffled and distant through the thick armor. Reaper was seated at her console staring at the last scan she had taken, the number of civilians at the landing site. Shadow was leaning against the bulkhead just behind her copilot, her voice pulled the wolf Faunus' eyes from the lime green digital 93 that had seared itself into her mind.

"Ruby, do you blame me?" The feline Faunus asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"W-What?" The wolf Faunus' ears twitched at the question, as if she didn't think her heard her pilot properly.

"I was the one who suggested we have them draw lots. Do you blame me?" The black and white suited pilot said, repeating the question.

"No," Reaper replied with a sigh, closing her eyes against the green light of her console, her ears flattened morosely against her head once more, "Part of me thinks if we hadn't done lots I wouldn't have had to shoot that man, but with the crowd… No, it was the right call." She couldn't hold back as her adrenaline faded. Down time after an engagement was a double edged sword for a soldier, it gave them time recover but also to think about what they had done or witnessed during the mission. "Damn it Blake, I saw kids in that crowd who couldn't have been more than 5 or 6. Fuck… I can't get their faces out of my mind. They were scared but I don't think they even really knew what was happening!" Tears started to well up in her eyes, the black and red suited pilot buried her face in her hands.

The amber eyed pilot spun her copilot's chair around, knelt down and gently took the wolf Faunus' hands in her own. "If we had had the time, we'd have gotten them all off planet. I know what's going through your head, it's alright to grieve for the ones we couldn't save. But we have to be able to still protect those that we could get away from the Grimm." Blake's eyes were misted with her own unshed tears but her voice was calm and steady.

"And how do I do that, Blake?" She asked, her voice cracking as tears streaming down her cheeks, dripping onto the back of Blake's hands. "Every time I blink I can see every detail of the faces of those terrified civilians. Their children...the panicked look on those parent's faces when they realized that even their children were going to be left behind! Even the soul crushing resignation that filled the eyes of those who realized they were going to die is won't leave me!"

Blake let go of one of the wolf Faunus' hands and pulled her into an embrace, letting Ruby shed her tears onto her shoulder. "We use what the Grimm did to us as motive to never let someone who sets foot on our dropship die. They get to and from where they're going in one piece, civilian or soldier. And anyone who tries to stop us gets the business ends our service pistols and the BlackRose's 30mm cannon." She could feel the red and black haired pilot digging her nails into her flight suit as she vented. The raven haired woman trailed slow circles over Ruby's back, rocking her gently as the smaller pilot's sobs racked her. Blake only shed a single tear, it was enough for her. She would grieve for, and honor, the colonies by never letting someone die if they were in her care.

* * *

"How, How do you do it?" Ruby hiccuped lightly as her sobbing finally started to subside, her lips only a few inches from Blake's ear.

"Do what?" The amber eyed woman asked, still rocking the silver eyed pilot. They were sharing the copilot seat, the feline Faunus had seated Ruby in her lap.

She replied, almost emotionlessly, her energy drained, as she tried to nuzzle deeper into the crook of Blake's neck as the images of the clearing started to return. "Act so calm, even after all this? We lost our homes, condemned people to death, and now… there can't be more than 100 thousand Remnants left out of billions."

The black and white suited pilot trailed her fingers through the other's crimson and black locks, somewhat guiltily taking pleasure in the smaller woman's touch as she thought, _We are still licking open wounds, but holding you is enough for me. Knowing you're still with me is enough for me._

As that thought cemented itself into Blake's mind she replied, "The same reason I was able to survive my family dying during the riots on Menagerie. I'm thinking about the bright things. We lost the colonies, we lost so many people that we may honestly never fully recover, but homes can be replaced. Families were still saved and new ones can start again from the survivors."

"But what's the bright side for you?" Ruby asked finally moving her silver colored gaze to Blake's.

"I didn't lose you, Ruby." The amber eyed lieutenant answered, losing herself in those twin silver pools.

Neither of them knew which of them moved first, but Blake could feel Ruby's hand bury itself into her obsidian tresses, pulling her toward her. While the feline Faunus' own hand already on the wolf Faunus' back, tried to hold her smaller frame tighter against her. They quickly found their senses overwhelmed. The sound of each breath that slipped passed their lips with every short gasp of air. The taste of the other's tongue as they played, neither vying for dominance. The rhythm of their heartbeats syncing until they couldn't tell the difference between them. The sharp scent of sweat and adrenaline still clinging to each other, all of it intoxicated them. That moment for the both of them was one more bright spot in the darkness of the cosmos.

After a few minutes their lips parted, Ruby once more rested her head in the crook of Blake's neck. Her eyes were half lidded, a small ghost of a smile curled the edges of her lips. She could feel a faint contented rumble rising up from within the raven haired woman's chest. She nodded lightly in agreement with the feline Faunus' earlier reply, exhaustion starting to take over. "I didn't lose you either, Kitten."

As the red and black haired lieutenant's breathing evened and sleep over took her, Blake slowly resumed rocking her. A contented smile curled her lips. _I'm not your only bright spot in the dark, Wolf, but I am glad to be one of them._ She gently leaned forward and keyed the BlackRose into the Beacon's shipwide comm, the thick armor would muffle the sound outside the craft. The feline Faunus had no intention of waking the slender figure in her lap by going back to their bunks, this way the pilots of the dropship BlackRose would hear if they were called to station.

* * *

 _ **Beacon Bridge**_

"So the plan is to become wandering nomads, Major?! Did I hear that correctly?" Col. Branwen ground out the question between his teeth.

Summer nodded as LtCmdr Oobleck magnified an image of the crippled Solarius. Indicators flashed and lines of data accompanied them, detailing the severity of the damage. "Yes, and the Solarius can't come with us either. At least not by jumping. Tai hasn't said the dreadnaught is a lost cause but it's fairly obvious."

"Do we have a census count of every survivor yet?" Tactics officer Port asked as he examined the locations indicated by the DRADIS.

"Not yet, we were still gathering data when you arrived. But a rough estimate would be around 80 thousand." She replied with a grimace, the colonies had been home to almost 600 billion Remnants spread across multiple planets, moons, and stations.

"Jesus… We're going to need to take stock of what supplies we have," Dr. Torchwick said, his face paling at the estimation. "And we're going to need to jump again soon, this is a dead area of the stellar cluster there's nothing here that can help us."

"There are still dozens of stations that we may be able to go to. They're near the middle of the Remnant star cluster and we know they weren't engaged because we're still getting intermittent signals from them." The Beacon's navigations officer said, dismissing the image of the Solarius and replacing it with a map of the Remnant star cluster. Blue diamonds representing the locations of the stations pulsed and danced as the DRADIS tracked their orbits around the various celestial bodies. "It's also possible we may find survivors there as well as supplies."

"What do you think, Ms Goodwitch? Even though you haven't officially been sworn in yet, you are the President of the Remnant Colonies." Commander Ozpin said, looking at the former Presidential Aide.

"I watched billions die today, Commander Ozpin. If Major Rose's estimation is correct we need to do everything we can to make sure we don't lose anyone else. I say we make for the closest station, gather what supplies and survivors we can and then move on to the next only if we need to. If need to become nomads to survive then that is what we will have to do." Her voice was steady as she spoke, her eyes were still red with grief, but Glynda's demeanor had changed as the calm after the storm settled among the survivors. Roman was right, James Ironwood didn't die in vain, she was alive and the successor to the Colonial Presidency, she needed to have a clear head and not return to being the crying wretch she had been just hours before.

"Lieutenant Peach, your thoughts? You're a bridge officer as well, all input is welcome." Commander Ozpin said, causing the other officers and the civilians to bring their full attention to the comms officer.

"Hhmm? Oh sorry, Sir, but I think we may have a problem." The auburn haired woman apologized, one hand holding her headset to her ear, while the other worked the dials of her station trying to clean up the signal.

"Explain." Ozpin ordered, the bridge descended into a deafening silence.

"It may be nothing, but I keep getting a brief garbled signal over the comms. I've been trying to clean it up but nothing has worked so far." Lieutenant Peach clarified, still working on the signal. "Wait… I think I can hear something now...is that a pulse monitor?"

"A pulse monitor? Why would we be picking that up?" Ghost asked, her ears perking up alertly, worry starting to creep into her voice as she walked over to the comm station.

"I'm not sure, Ma'am...but…" She trailed as she tried to trace the signal, when she found where it was coming from, her eyes widened in shock. "Commander, you're going to want to get on the horn with Admiral Tai. That signal is coming from both the Solarius' bridge and their reactor!"

A pulse monitor signal in those two locations meant only one thing, the Solarius' wartime protocols were still active. At that moment the dreadnaught was effectively a high energy explosive device three times the size of the R.C.S Beacon. Protocol dictated that fleet ships had both a manual trigger for detonating their reactor and aura drives, as well as a pulse monitor keyed to the commanding officer. This redundancy was only engaged if the ship's C.O. thought the signal from the manual trigger could be intercepted and blocked.

* * *

 _ **Bridge of the Solarius**_

"Admiral, the last of the nonessential crew are away and folded into the rest of the fleet as ordered." The dreadnaught's Comms Officer said.

"Good, Good, you know you can all leave as well, yes? The Solarius only needs it's commanding officer now."

"With all do respect, Sir. When, not if, those metal bastards show up you'll need us to help cover the rest of the fleet while they jump. And you know they will try to board us so, who better to defend the Solarius' bridge than her own bridge officers, eh?" The Tactics Officer said, racking the slide of his service pistol with an air of finality.

Tai nodded with a sigh, "Alright then. Comms, is that line to the Beacon still open?" He asked, wondering what Ozpin would have to say when he told them they'd be leaving him and the Solarius behind.

"Yes, Sir, they're already hailing us."

The Fleet Admiral picked up the private receiver at his command station. The Commander of the R.C.S: Beacon wasted no time questioning his superior's motives. "Admiral Tai, do you want to tell me why you still have wartime protocols engaged?" The question was stiff, as if he was holding back most of his emotions.

Tai replied with the same stiff tone, this part of the call had to be formal. His nails bit into the armrest of his command chair. "Because, Commander Ozpin, effective immediately the highest ranking military officer of the Remnant fleet is now you. The Solarius is a ghost ship, I have already folded its crew into the civilian vessels with orders to report to you directly after you jump from here."

"What about you, Sir? We can't just leave you behind, you haven't even talked to your wife or children!" Ozpin's voice grated through the receiver, hard, angry. "I know you're in pain but a suicidal last stand is not-"

Tai cut him off, his voice was a choked, cracked, whisper against his subordinate's understandable denial of his current actions. "The Grimm will be here soon. We know they're tracking us."

"What…?"

"Don't you get it, Commander? We built them to be able to sense the emotions of our enemies when they were planetside. The sweat, blood, decay… the fear. The aura drives respond best when a ship population is unified in an emotion, joy, fear…. It has been a century since the last battle," An almost insane chuckle slipped into his voice at the revelation. If the military brass, scientists, and colonial leaders had realized this blatantly obvious possibility sooner then maybe, just maybe, they'd have had a better chance. But it was too late now. "We should have realized they'd have had the time to adapt the abilities of their older models into ship sensors, and then further refine them. They'll be here soon, how could they miss an aura drive trail filled with the fear and pain of almost 100 thousand people?"

"We built the prefect killing machine and they decided to start killing us in return. This is the price we pay for playing God…" Ozpin's relenting sigh hissed over the comm, "What would you have me do?"

Tai said, his tired, sleep deprived gaze scanned the DRADIS idly as he spoke. "Follow whatever plan you have made thus far. If I blow the Solarius' aura drive and reactor I may be able to scramble your trail, buy you all some time."

"And your family?"

"Summer has been transferred to the Beacon. Paperwork be damned. But if she doesn't want to command the CAP then don't push it onto her, find something useful for her to be able to stay aboard the Beacon. Military liaison to the President, tactical advisor for Captain Schnee, anything." The Fleet Admiral said, slowly resting his head in one hand, while the other held the receiver his ear.

"And your children, Sir?" Ozpin pressed, feeling his own sorrow for the lieutenants Rose and Xiao-Long, and for Major Rose, settle heavily in his gut.

"Keep them safe if able. And let your crew find their happiness where they can," The reply was quiet, whispered as if the blonde haired admiral was scared that even mentioning the Grimm would call them forth "Sorrow leads to pain, and both lead to the Grimm."

"I understand, Sir. Can I at least request that your children be able to go see you?" He requested, knowing full well what his Commanding Officer's reply would be.

"I'd like that, Oz, I'd like that very much. Have Summer come with them. I, I need to say goodbye properly." He said ending the call, finally letting his tears slip between his fingers. His bridge officers continued their work around him, consciously oblivious to the call that had just taken place, each feeling the same pain in their own ways.

* * *

 _ **Admiral Tai's Quarters**_

"Th-There has to be another way, Tai!" Summer cried, failing to control her voice. "You don't have to die just so we have a small chance to survive another day!"

Ruby was standing beside the distraught wolf Faunus, she was shaking, her tears streamed down her downcast face dripping onto the floor of the fleet admiral's cabin. "Dad… Please, just use the manual trigger. Don't chain yourself to a deathtrap." She whispered, her voice somehow reaching through the air above her mother's shouts.

"I'm, I'm sorry, Petal but I can't. I need to make sure the Solarius is destroyed so that you, your sister, your mother, and the rest of the fleet can get away. If I leave the ship and the Grimm jam the manual detonators then that won't happen." Taiyang said, resting his hands on the splintered remains of his desk, shamefully picking at the splinters near one of the many bullet holes that riddle the piece of furniture.

"That is bullshit, dad! You're throwing your life away on a gamble that won't even protect us forever!" Yang growled, bringing her fist down onto the desk with a loud bang.

Tai finally looked at his stricken family, circled the remains of his desk, and stopped in front of them. He pulled a small sealed envelope from within his uniform coat and pressed it into Summer's hand. "I truly am sorry. But I have no other choice, I need to make sure you three survive even if I do not. I would rather die knowing you all have a chance of living, and of being happy again, than risk losing you to the Grimm."

"Tai…" Summer trailed, her voice hoarse and cracked, as she felt the weight and shape of what was inside the envelope. It held his wedding ring, her husband's mind was made up.

"Please, Summer, promise me you and our children will find the will to smile again after this." He begged, his voice cracking under the weight of his own words.

The last CAG of the Solarius closed her eyes, swallowed back the lump in her throat that threatened to choke her, and after a moment finally replied to his request. "I can't promise that. But we'll be safe, that much I can promise."

* * *

 _ **Vacuum Enroute to the R.C.S: Beacon**_

The BlackRose was making its way slowly back to the R.C.S: Beacon, almost six hours after Admiral Taiyang had requested his family join him on the Solarius so that he could say goodbye. Shadow was piloting with minimal engine power. Ghost, Dragon, and Reaper were in the transport bay grieving for what was to come. The feline Faunus wanted to give them time alone with each other before returning to the Glyph-class carrier.

"Was this really the only way, Sir?" Blake mused to herself within the solitude of the dropship's cockpit. Her hands tightening around the yoke of her flight controls, the creak of her leather flight gloves filling her ears. "Yeah… I guess it was. I'll make sure you aren't doing this for nothing. And I'll do it for them." She murmured, glancing over her shoulder that the sealed door that was between her and distraught trio of pilots.

As she turned back to her console, she could see that the dropship was being hailed. "Beacon Actual to BlackRose, come in BlackRose." Lieutenant Peach's voice piped through the comm. Her voice was devoid of the cheer the raven haired pilot had heard when she'd first approached the Beacon twelve hours ago. Those twelve hours may as well have been twelve years ago.

"I read you Beacon Actual, go ahead." Shadow replied, her ears tight against her head, she hoped it wasn't another serious comm call. Waking up to a call to station only to find out it was to help Ruby say goodbye to her father broke her heart. She'd had to help the wolf Faunus to her flight chair, her knees had buckled and she'd been despondent until they'd landed in the Kight-class dreadnaught's landing bay.

"You're being diverted to the Atlas to pick up a colonist and bring them back with you." The Comms Officer informed the pilot.

"The Atlas, copy that Beacon Actual, changing course to vector 7.9 mark 3.2 mark 8.8. Who are we picking up?" The amber eyed pilot asked, as the large science vessel started to grow in the viewing canopy.

"Dr. Winter Schnee," The auburn haired woman replied. "She's the only highly skilled medical professional we've found so far in the fleet, the census is still being collected so we may get lucky and find another as well. But for right now though we'd like her aboard the Beacon. Less risk of losing her."

 _Winter Schnee, eh? Well there is Ice Queen's bright spot. Hhmm… smart move wanting to move her to the Beacon. Protect a major asset, but we need more medical staff than one person. She's going to need to train people._ Blake thought to herself as she replied, "Understood, Beacon Actual, BlackRose out."

The door between the cockpit and the transport section of the dropship opened with a hiss as Reaper walked over to her station, "Why'd we change course, Shadow?" Her voice was hoarse, raw from venting her grief.

"We've, We've been asked to divert to the Atlas to pick up Winter Schnee." Blake said, as she engaged the autopilot. Even at maximum burn the flight to the Atlas would take half an hour. The feline Faunus spun her flight chair around to better see her co-pilot.

The red and black suited pilot was a mess. Her silver eyes were bloodshot, glazed as if she just didn't want to see anything anymore, her face was ghost white and drained of energy and emotion. She'd bounced from emotional low to emotional high and back again in such a short time that the amber eyed pilot wondered how the wolf Faunus was even able to find the energy to stand.

Shadow did the only thing she could think of just then, she pulled Reaper into her lap and slowly started to rock her. No tears came from the red and black haired pilot this time, she didn't have the energy left to weep again. She simply circled her arms around her pilot's neck and gave into the soothing rocking motion. Before letting the oblivion of sleep claim her again she practically begged into Blake's ear, "Promise me, Kitten, promise me you won't leave me."

"I promise, Wolf. I will never leave you." Blake vowed, slowly running her hand once again through the red and black locks. Her amber eyes hardened coldly in the dim light of the cockpit. _And anyone who tries to make me won't live to regret it. For that matter, anyone who tries to hurt you, your sister, or your mother will end up on the wrong side of an airlock. You've lost enough already._

* * *

Blake carried Ruby back into the transport section of the BlackRose before she needed to begin making the approach to the Atlas. She could see Summer was dozing in her flight restraints, the wolf Faunus' energy just as spent as her daughter's, if not more so.

Yang however was still awake. "So, Winter did make it off Atlas after all? Good, at least something good came out of this flight." She muttered as Blake filled her in on what was happening.

"Yang… I…"

"I know, Blake. I know, just make sure you… you know." Dragon sighed, gesturing toward her sleeping sister as a few of her own tears slipped from the corners of lilac eyes.

"You know I will. We… We were rather forward with each other, in a way before the...call." The feline Faunus said, trying to say or do anything to dispel the tense air in the transport section of the Paladin dropship.

"Well, if it was indecently forward then spare me the details please." The blonde haired Hunter pilot said, waving her hands slightly as if to ward off mental images. "But, if you want to be with my sister, then that just gives you more of a reason to make sure she stays safe and happy if you're able. You've always done that, so I trust you, Shadow."

"Damn right it does give me another reason, Dragon. But, you don't have to be with someone to also want them to be happy. If...If you ever need to talk, or Hell, get a drink or something don't be afraid to ask. You, me, Weiss, Ruby, everyone in the crew, we've all got to look out for each other now." Blake advised her ears perking up just a little. If the R.C.S: Beacon, the entire fleet for that matter, were to survive everyone would have to look after each other.

"You're right, Shadow. You're right," The lilac eyed woman replied sighing a little, her bloodshot eyes looked over to the fitfully sleeping forms of her step-mother and sister. "Summer is more of a mother to me than my own birth mother was. I gave her so much shit when I was a kid… yet… I haven't once called her mom. It's foolish I know… but I feel like such an idiot for not doing that, at least once."

"Maybe you could start? She's not going anywhere anytime soon." Blake said, turning back toward the cockpit door, but not before leaning down, just a little and pressing a brief kiss to her sleeping co-pilot's forehead.

As the door sealed with a hiss Yang couldn't help thinking that the raven haired Paladin pilot was right.

* * *

 _ **R.C.S: Atlas**_

As the BlackRose touched down in the port landing bay of the Atlas, Dr. Winter Schnee was already moving toward the entry ramp. Her blue and white lab coat settling around her again as engines spun down. _I can't do much good for the colonists if I'm confined to working on the Beacon. Sure they have a decent facility but what if a patient can't be moved?_ She thought as the ramp hit the deckplate with a thump.

"Dr. Schnee?" Blake asked, from the top of the ramp, her helmet still resting under her flight chair in the cockpit.

"I am, yes." The alabaster haired doctor replied.

"Do you need any help with your equipment?" The feline Faunus asked, gesturing toward the three bags the woman had brought with her.

"No, thank you. I can manage," She said, quickly stowing the bulky equipment bags. It was then that she noticed the three pilots, two still dozing in their restraints, the third had her lilac eyes boring holes into the deckplate between her boots. "So...the rumor about the Admiral's protocol engagement is true then?" She asked recognizing the three of them.

"Yeah, Doc. It is." Yang replied stiffly.

"I am so sorry, Lieutenant Xiao-Long." She said, bowing her head slightly.

"Thanks…you'd best get strapped in. The Captain will be jumping for joy when she see you. I don't think the bridge crew told her you'd come up on the census." Dragon replied, her face giving way to a mirthless smirk.

"Weiss…she's alive?" Winter asked, surprise filling her voice.

"Nothing keeps a determined Hunter pilot from coming back to family if they're still alive." The yellow and black suited pilot said with a nod. "And, you're the one I bet would've made it off Atlas. Guess I was right, eh?"

"True, but I was already on the R.C.S: Atlas when the first nuke hit. I was just lucky." She replied as the restraints clicked into place. "Or I guess unlucky, in a way. The rest of my family didn't make it."

Yang pursed her lips, "Sorry, Doc."

"I shouldn't be surprised, this is the result of playing God." The blue eyed doctor replied with a grimace, as she leaned back into her harness. "I will miss my mother and brother, Hell I'll miss my bastard of a father but...the pain will fade with time. And as long as the Grimm don't kill us we've got all the time in the world to recover and pay them back."

"Damn right, Doc. Right now though I'd settle for a very stiff drink and helping my friends and family recover from this." Yang said, reaching into a bag she had taken from the Solarius and tossing Winter a metal flask.

"To the colonies and those that were lost." Winter toasted, taking a swig from the container and passing it back to Yang.

"To the colonies and those that were lost." The Hunter pilot parroted, before taking drink from the flask.

Sixty seconds later the BlackRose leapt from the Solarius' landing bay. Blake spiraled the dropship slowly around to orient with the R.C.S: Beacon and started their return flight.

* * *

 **AN: So yeah... This chapter took about six rewrites to get done. I also hadn't planned on kicking off the Ladybug shipping this early but as I was writing that scene it just kinda happened. I know it seems like the Rose and Long family is getting the tar beaten out of them right now, but it's not always going to be the case. Also I'm kinda not done yet in that regard, I've got at least six different ideas for how the next chapter will go. Any who I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you in the next one! Keep moving forward, enjoy the journey, and don't feed the guard dogs! - Phoenix Commander signing off!**


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